Electric detector for valves.



No. 6a|,2||. l Patented Aug. 27, |904.

c. B. sAnnETT.

ELETIHG- DETEGTR FOR VALVES.

(Applieltinn Bhd In'. 90. 1900.)

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Patented Aug. 27, |90l. C. B. BARRETT.

ELECTRIC DETECTOR FUR VALVES.

(Applientinn Med In. 90. 1900.)

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UNITED A STATES PATENT OEEICE.

CHARLES B. GARRETT, OF MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE- HALF TO MARTIN DYKE, OF SAME PLACE.

ELECTRIC DETECTOR FOR VALVES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 681,211, dated August 27, 1901. Application flied March 2o, 190e. serial No. 9,369. ino man To LZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES B. GAEEETT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Minneapolis, in the county of Hennepin and State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Electric Detectors for Valves; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My present invention has for its object to provide a detecting device forindicatin g when a valve has been moved from a set posit-ion and to this end it consists of the novel devices and combinations of devices hereinafter described, and defined in the claims.

This detecting device is especially designed for use in connection with fire-protecting systems. In such systems certain of the waterdistriloution pipes are provided with valves, which in the most instances should be nor mally left in open positions, but in some cases should be left set in closed positions. In all such eases it is of the greatest importance that the proper persons should receive notice whenever one of these valves is moved from its set or normal position. By my invention the movement of a valve from its set position is automatically indicated, and hence tampering with the said valves is prevented or at least prevented from having serious consequences.

The invention in its preferred lform is illustrated in the accompanying drawings,where in like characters indicate like parts throughout the several views.

lFigure l is a View, partly in elevation and partly in vertical section, showing a portion of a water-distribution pipe, a valve controlling the same, and my improved lock and alarm device or enunciator applied in working position for cooperation with the said lock. Fig. 2 is a transverse section on the line 052 x2 of Fig. l; and Fig. 3 is a view, partly in side elevation, partly in vertical section, and partly in diagram, showing a modified construction.

The numeral l indicates what may be as- 5o sumed to be a vertically-disposed stand-pipe or water-distribution pipe of an automatic tire-protective system, although it may of course be any sort of a water-distribution pipe and may extend in any direction.

The numeral 2 indicates a valve in the pipe l, which may be of any suitable or ordinary construction adapted to be opened and closed by the simple rotary movement of the handwheel or valvemover 3. IVe may assume that the valve 2 is normally set in an open position and that it is desirable to sound an alarm or actuate au enunciator whenever the said valve is closed or rather Whenever the valve-mover or hand-wheel 3 is turned from its normal position.

For cooperation with the hand-wheel 3 a supporting-head 4f, which is provided at its segmental upper surface with a segmental channel-piece 5, is supported, as shown, from the floor 6 by means of a tubular standard 7.

. The standard 7 has right-hand threads at one said standard where set within its screW-' threaded seats.

The peripheral portion of the hand-wheel 3 is preferably formed approximately square or rectangular in cross-section, and it works closely between the flanges of the segmental channel-piece 5, as best shown in Fig. 2. At

one point the flange of the wheel 3 is formed with a radial seat 13, and in this seat a lock plunger or head 14 is mounted to work, with its stem I5 projecting inward through the l wheel-rim and provided with a finger-piece,

as shown, in the form of aring 16.

A spring 17, compressed within the seat 13 between the lock head or plunger' 14 and the bottom of the said seat, tends to normally hold said lock-head outward toits limit. At its central portion the segmental channel-piece 5 has a depression 1S, which is adapted to receive the outer end of the lock head orplun- IOO contact in the form ot' a leaf-spring 24 is' secured. The free end of the spriugcontact 24 normally stands out of engagement with the free end of the contact 23, being held in such position by the lockfhead or plunger 14, which engages an insulating-finger orl projection 25, which, as shown, is carried by the said spring-contact 24. rIhe spring 17 is of course strong enough to overcome the tension of the spring-contact 24. Hence the circuit is normally broken between the con-l tacts 23 and 24. However, when the lock head or plunger 14 is drawn inward, as is necessary in order to turn the wheel 3, the contact 24 will spring into engagement with the contact 23 and close the circuit between them. Circuit-wires 26 connect to the metallic plugs 22, and in this circuit 26 is a battery 27 and an electrically-operated alarmbell or gong 28'. Thegong 28 may of course be located at any suitable adjacent pointsuch as the office of the building, the home of the owner or watchman or other person,- or at the police or fire station.

With the above-described construction it is impossible to unlock the wheel or valvemover 3 without closing the circuit 26 and sounding the gong. Of course an enunciator of some other form-such, for instance, as a pointer/and dial or other visual side indicator-might be employed, and, if desired, en unciators may be used in connection with the alarm device to indicate just-which valve has been tampered with or moved.

The modicationshown in Fig. .3 is nearly 4the same as in Fig. 1, with few exceptions. This construction comprises a normallyclosed circuit 29 and a normally open circuit 30. The circuit 29 involves a battery 31, a magnet 32, together'wifth the plugs 22 and the spring-contact 24, secured to one of the plugs 22, which is held in engagement with a'contact-piece 33, secured to one of the plugs 22 by the lock head or plunger 14, which engages the insulating finger or projection 25, carried by the spring-contact 24, which in this construction has been made long enough to just reach between said plunger 14 and the spring-contact 24 when said spring 24 is in engagement with said contact eenen 33. The circuit 30 involves the battery 34, the electrically-operated alarm-bell or gong 28, the circuit-closing lever 35, and the contact-pieces 36. The contact-lever 35 is normally held against the tension of a light spring -37 out of contact with the contact-pieces 36 vspring 37 Will be thrown into engagement with the contact-pieces 36, thereby closing the circuit 30 and 'sounding the alarm 28.

Other changes may also be made within the scope of my invention.

To apply the head 4 and segmental iiange 5 to working position with the flanges of the channel 5 embracing the periphery of' the hand-Wheel, the standard 7 may be screwed into-its seats 8 and' 9 farther than shown in Fig. 1, and then after the parts are properly located the said standard may be adjusted as shownin the drawings. It willbe further understood that the lock device may take.

various forms and may be applied to valvemovers of various forms.

What I? claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is as follows:

1. The combi-nation with a hand-wheel for moving a valve, and an adjacent relatively- Xed support, of a spring-pressed and finger'- released lock for locking said hand-wheel to said support,- an electric alarm or enunciator having circuit connections toa pair of electrodes or contacts adaptedv to make and break the circuit, one of which electrodes is normally held in one of i'ts extreme positions and is released by the releasing movement of said lock to actuate said alarm, substantially as described.

2. The combination with the hand-wheel 3 actuating a valve and` provided with the recess 13, of the spring-pressed lock-plunger working in said recess 13 and provided with a projecting finger-piece, the head or snpport 4 having the recess 20 and flanged segmental upper surface 5, a recess in said section 5 normally receiving said lock-plunger 14, and the electrical alarm or enunciator comprising the electrodes 23 and 24, the latter having or being subject to a projection 25 which is pressed by the said lock 14, said parts operating substantially as described.

In testimony whereot` I aiiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES B. GARRETT.

Witnesses:

M. M. McGRoRY, F. D.- MERCHANT.

TOO

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